The Food Diary in the Wild: pinpointing the cause of Sally's lethargy

After healing from a coeliac diagnosis ten years ago, Sally’s started to experience unexplained fatigue and tiredness again - her food diary has helped her pinpoint exactly what’s causing it….

“I was diagnosed with coeliac disease over ten years ago, after unexplained anaemia and fatigue had majorly caught up with me. Adjusting to a gluten free diet meant that my body could heal, and suddenly my energy levels improved and I felt like I could keep up with a normal pace of life again.

Ten years later and ten years older I am starting to feel the effects of fatigue again. Not in the same overwhelming way that I did before I was diagnosed, but in a more sporadic way. Some days I feel full or energy and ready to take on the world. Other days I can just about manage a day of work, and then I collapse exhausted on the sofa, unable to do much apart from feed the cats and roll myself into bed at a ridiculously early hour. I really wanted to understand how I could be so full of energy one day and so exhausted on another. That’s when I came across the brilliant food diary.

I am definitely the sort of person who gets wrapped up in life and work and forgets to look after themselves sometimes. I am happiest when fully immersed in an intense project with tight deadlines, a few plans booked in with friends, and an evening or two to slob in front of the TV. I do not always make time to eat as well or as often as I should, or even to just pay attention to my body. Discovering the food diary has really helped pull me out of that cycle and to make time to think about how I am treating myself.

Since using the diary I have really been able to understand the effects of refined sugar and dairy on my body. I can see that on days where I eat something really sugary I have less sleep, which affects my next day and my energy levels. I can see on days where I have a lot of dairy that I am bloated, sometimes feel nauseous, and that my energy levels plummet. 

I have really engaged with the food diary, and I can see why so many people enjoy using it. As a stationery addict the sleek design fills me with glee every time I pull it out of my bag. Finally, a nice looking notebook I am actually using! I love the layout of the pages, they are big enough to record all the food and symptoms I may have in a day, with enough room to track my mood, sleep levels, energy and digestion. I also find the monthly tracker page a genius idea, being able to see the month at a glance gives a really good indication of how I am doing overall. If I’ve had more exhausted days than high energy days, it is a definite sign that I need to look at my daily living patterns again.

Writing things down in such a clear way will be so helpful you won’t look back!

Since using the diary I have really been able to understand the effects of refined sugar and dairy on my body. I can see that on days where I eat something really sugary I have less sleep, which affects my next day and my energy levels. I can see on days where I have a lot of dairy that I am bloated, sometimes feel nauseous, and that my energy levels plummet. The knock-on effect is plainly laid out in the monthly tracker, and I have finally started to understand my body a little more.

To anyone considering if they should try a food diary for the first time I would suggest thinking about any symptoms you are having which you haven’t been able to pin down to a specific cause. Writing things down in such a clear way will be so helpful you won’t look back.”

Thank you so much to Sally for sharing her experience with the food diary! It’s always exciting to hear how our diary users are pinpointing specific foods and issues that they’re causing! That’s why we love our food diary - the layout is designed in such a way as to show you the links between your health issues and your diet. So what are you waiting for?! You want to feel better right? Then here’s where you get one.